The Color of Your Eyes
by NewUserNamesAreHard
Summary: Ren loved sunsets, second only to sunrises, the two times of the day when the entire sky lit up with hues of yellow and orange and red. Or so he was told. The only color he saw was amber. (Soulmate AU!)
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters… But you all knew that anyways.**

* * *

Ren loved sunsets, second only to sunrises, the two times of the day when the entire sky lit up with hues of yellow and orange and red. Or so he was told. The only color he saw was amber.

-xoXox-

Growing up Kyoko had always been happiest when she was looking up at the sky from under the big tree in her secret clearing. The midafternoon sky, when viewed through the screen of green leaves, looked almost exactly like her soulmates eyes. And Kyoko cherished the colors he had given her.

Color wasn't something that everyone got to experience. There was only one person who could bring color to your world. And there were no guarantees you would ever meet them. But if you did meet your soulmate, the other half of your soul, you knew the moment your eyes met. Because the color of their eyes would be the first color you ever saw.

According to the adults, there was a whole world full of different colors and as you got to know your soulmate you would start to see them over time. Kyoko couldn't say if that was true or not though. She had only seen the world in blues and greens and greys. Two weeks was all the time Kyoko's soulmate had been able to spend with her. And then he had needed to leave. Called back to the fairy court by his father the king of fairies.

Kyoko had been six when they met. And she hadn't known anything about soulmates back then. All she had known was that Corn was her fairy prince. The boy who saved her from her sadness and shared the colors of the sky and the trees with her.

They had met in her secret clearing as she fled from her mother, tears dripping from her eyes once again. Another unacceptable test score, a 97%, had pushed her mother over the limit and she had been kicked out of the house.

Corn had dried her tears and shared his magic with her. And she hoped, now that she knew, that she had shared a color with him. She hoped that when he had returned to the land of the fairies he was able to see more splendor in the world, even under the shadow of his father's hands.

After he left, Kyoko had accepted that she would never see her soulmate again. So, knowing that one day he would probably leave her for his soulmate, she put everything into helping her first love Shotaro. That was how, 10 years after meeting her soulmate, Kyoko had ended up working two jobs to support Shotaro as he launched his music career in Tokyo, far from Kyoko's secret clearing and her memories. She didn't really mind though. Sho, she had to keep reminding herself to call him that, had asked her to go with him. He could have asked any other girl, but he asked her.

And maybe it was Kyoko's mistake to believe him when he said he didn't believe in soulmates, but she had let herself love him completely, expecting he would learn to love her back. That was why it felt like her heart had shattered into a million pieces the day she found out he only viewed her as a maid.

Shotaro was the scum of the earth, undeserving of every breath of air he took. And it didn't matter. Because he was Fuwa Sho, rising music star, and she was plain, boring, unattractive Kyoko. But she wouldn't be for long. She would take the entertainment business by storm and squish Sho beneath the heel of her new boots.

Kyoko smiled as she walked away from the talent department of LME with paperwork for her upcoming audition in hand. This was her chance and she wasn't going to waste it.

* * *

 **A/N: I had a horrible time trying to write anything Skip Beat for a long time. Then I read a soulmate AU in the other fandom I write for and this sort of wrote itself. And it only works because both Kyoko and Ren are unbelievably dense.**


	2. Persistence

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters… But you all knew that anyways.**

* * *

Ren's gentleman's smile snapped into place as a young woman crashed into him in the hallway. He didn't exactly like being run over, but accidents happen.

 _Oh._ Ren could feel his smile faltering, his expression taking on a darkness he normally kept well hidden. It was _her_. The girl he had met in the lobby some number of days ago. The one that wanted to get into show business for the wrong reasons. The one who had the same color eyes as his soulmate. That was probably what galled him more than anything else. This girl was nothing like his soulmate. Nothing like the sensitive, caring girl, he had met nearly a decade ago. She was nothing but an imposter. But she still had Kyoko-chan's eyes.

Ren looked between the girl's application and her unacceptably amber eyes. Then he shook himself and sighed. He didn't have to worry. There was no way she would make it through the audition anyhow.

"What's with this 'Don't stress yourself. In the end she won't pass and she'll regret it' sigh?" The girl demanded.

She had clearly read his mind. He said as much.

If anything the girl looked even more determined as she launched into a monologue about how she would persevere.

Ren's following words were polite. The sentences he used them in however… Ren had to admit that fury suited the young woman in front of him. Though, why the thought crossed his mind…? He had no idea. "Why did you even go so far as to persuade Sawara-san? Just out of curiosity? Or are you searching for an adventure?"

The girl's eyes narrowed as she all but screamed at Ren. "To take revenge on Fuwa Sho!"

Ren blinked. Who? She had said it like he should know who she was talking about, but the name didn't sound all that familiar. He pulled out his phone. The internet was a useful tool…

And the girl was insane. Why was she pounding her fist against the wall? It's not like Ren could be expected to remember the names of everyone else in show business. Ah. Fuwa Sho was a singer. Anyone could be a singer. "You only have to sing a little song. That's enough. And then your greatest desire will have come true."

What had momentarily been a pleasant neutral face morphed into something else. Where anger ended and defiance began, Ren couldn't quite be sure, but the girl certainly wore her emotions on her sleeve. "I will definitely make it!"

Ren felt his eyes narrowing. This girl, this imposter, this wannbe with amber eyes… She needed to understand. "Courage alone won't get you through the audition." The girl took a step back. "But," Ren continued as he pasted his gentleman's smile back on his face, "It seems that you won't listen to anybody. So just do it. Plunge into your misery with your brave eyes and rush headlong into tragedy until there's nothing left of you."

That… may have been a little excessive.

* * *

 **TBC...**


	3. Pink Ink

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters… But you all knew that anyways.**

 **A/N: Ok. I've gotten several comments about my other story 'Love Is Not Enough' which I had put up for adoption. So let's talk about that real quick.**

 **I wrote multiple versions of chapter 14 and hated every one of them. Everyone was out of character and the story progression just felt wrong. I have not written anything Skip Beat related since.**

 **Cue unexpected big life change for the better. (Ever ended up in a situation where things weren't bad enough motivate you to act but you realized sometime down the line you were deader inside than you should have been? Because I have.) And now, like I said before, this story pretty much wrote itself. Unlike 'Love Is Not Enough' it has a complete outline and everything. Mostly because it's a retelling of the Skip Beat story where the Universe helps to point out that Ren and Kyoko really belong together. Surprise! (Or not. You all may have figured that out already.)**

 **I had one person consider adopting 'Love Is Not Enough' but I never heard anything conclusive about that. So... I guess you guys are stuck with me. But I honestly don't know when I'll get back to the story. I'm rereading it now with the intention of writing more, but at the moment I don't even remember what I originally wanted to happen next.**

 **In specific answer to the person who asked how I could start a new story while leaving 'Love Is Not Enough' unfinished: First, please recognize that leaving a story unfinished is never an author's intention at the outset. Life happens. And writer's block is part of life. Second, some ideas just beg to be written and won't leave you alone till they've made their way to the page. This was one of them.**

 **And to the other guest who left this comment:** _"_ _this part caught my eye: "…knowing that one day [Corn] would probably leave [Kyoko] for his soulmate…" Does that mean that even if you found your soulmate it doesn't mean you're their soulmate? Is Kyoko going to fall in love with Ren thinking she's not his soulmate? Since this story seems like it's going to follow canon, will Bo make an appearance?"_ **You read that as Corn leaving Kyoko for his soulmate, but you're right that wouldn't make sense, since they are soulmates. It was intended to be read as Sho leaving Kyoko for his soulmate (who may or may not be Mimori). As for your other questions... You'll have to wait a few chapters to find out.**

* * *

Kyoko had made up her mind. She was going to find a way into LME. It didn't matter that she hadn't passed the audition, she would find a different way in. Although, the easiest way in was the unlocked front door.

From there the next step was making it past the receptionists. They looked harmless at first glance, but Kyoko had learned better. They weren't greeters, they were gatekeepers.

She slunk past them, taking cover behind decorations and the occasional businessman as she made her way to the side of the lobby. One quick hop and Kyoko was over the 'employee only' divider. Now she just had to find the president's office to beg for another chance… Or she could collide full force with Kamio Kimiko.

Panic quickly transformed to terror and Kyoko found herself cowering against a wall before Kimiko's outrage. A heartbeat later and Kyoko's years of customer service experience kicked in. "I really must apologize for my carelessness." She said on auto pilot, bowing to the actress she had just knocked to the floor.

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?" Kimiko demanded as she brushed herself off.

Kyoko froze in place debating the answer for what felt like minutes, but was probably only a second or two. "Yes." It wasn't a lie. At least it wouldn't be a lie once she got to the president to convince him to give her another try at show business.

Kimiko looked unimpressed. "Newcomers use the front entrance. You are in the wrong place. Didn't they tell you that at orientation? Who is your manager? Wait. Are you from that new group the president just created?"

"Eh?"

"You are aren't you?" Kimiko nodded to herself without letting Kyoko get a word in edgewise. "Of course you are. Here, take my bags. I'm already running late." With that the actress turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Kyoko with more luggage than she knew what to do with. How had the woman been carrying it before Kyoko accidently knocked her over?

After three attempts to pick up all of Kimiko's luggage, Kyoko was on her way, following the actress off to wherever she was headed. If Kyoko was lucky it would take them past the president's office.

She wasn't lucky. Kimiko was headed straight towards Tsuruga Ren, the jerk… And Sawara-san. Maybe Kyoko wasn't totally unlucky after all.

"Mogami-san?!" Sawara addressed Kyoko as she trailed behind Kimiko. He sounded far happier to see her than Kyoko would have expected seeing as she was trespassing. "I am totally speechless. You already started working?"

"Huh?" This was Kyoko's chance. If she could just convince Sawara to let her into LME before he threw her back out of the building… "I came here because I simply can't give up on Show business! Please, Sawara-san, I'll do whatever you need me to! Entourage, personal assistant, stand in… I'm great at cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry so I can even be an office-keeper!

Sawara looked pleased, nodding along with Kyoko's words. "Well Said! To begin with, just do the best you can at what you're doing now. If you put your whole heart into your tasks, you'll get points."

 _Points?_ Kyoko wasn't quite sure why she would want points, but Sawara sure made them sound important.

"Hey! Hurry and carry my things or I'll deduct points!" Kimiko interjected before Kyoko could ask Sawara what he was talking about. "Come on Tsuruga-kun. Let's get going."

Kyoko was confused. _Deduct points? From what?_ Her mind spun in circles as she followed Kimiko and Ren, doing her best not to fall on her face as she balanced Kimiko's bags. One suitcase rolled along at her heels while she tucked another under her left arm and clutched the third to her abdomen. She flinched as the big suitcase caught on the heel of her shoe for the fourth time in as many steps. Everything Kyoko owned would have fit in that suitcase.

"That looks heavy. May I take something?" Ren offered as he looked back over his shoulder. Kimiko was leading the way as they headed deeper into the building.

"Eh? Um…" Kyoko tried to protest as the actor maneuvered the suitcase handle from her grasp. She had been pretty sure that Ren didn't like her. At all. After their last interaction, Kyoko herself had been so fired up that she had gone out of her way to find a picture of Tsuruga Ren… specifically so she could throw darts at it.

Her skepticism must have shown on her face. Ren was flashing her a brilliant smile. "Isn't it normal to help in this situation? For a man, that is."

This was the same Tsuruga Ren that had told Kyoko that guts weren't enough to make it in show business wasn't it? He seemed so much nicer now. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied with an almost blinding smile. Maybe he had just been upset that Kyoko had run into him in the hallway the other day. It seemed he really did have a nice side.

Opps. Kyoko had spaced out for a moment as Ren talked. What was he talking about again? "Rugby section?"

"No. The Love Me section."

Kyoko could barely contain herself. Did he mean Love Me section as in 'please love me'? Love was the one thing Kyoko didn't need in her life. Not after losing Corn. And certainly not after falling victim to Shotaro, the cockroach. For that matter almost everyone else was probably better off without it too.

"It's a section where you work to get others to love you." Ren continued. "People who work in that section always have to put their heart into their work, to be loved by others."

"Sounds interesting." Kyoko answered even though she didn't really mean it. The whole idea was ridiculous, but conversations were supposed to be two sided. And really, she was just excited not to have been escorted off the premises already. "Who is going to be in this new section?"

"Right now you are doing the work of the Love Me section."

Kyoko's stride faltered. Her? She was in the Love me section?

"The Love Me section is for people who have talent, but lack something important. The president founded it to teach talents that 'missing thing'. And the first one chosen to join the new Love Me section …was you." Ren explained, totally oblivious to Kyoko's inner turmoil. Or maybe choosing to ignore it. He was looking directly at her now, making eye contact as they walked side by side.

Something seemed to occur to him and Ren looked away suddenly, staring fixedly down the length of the hallway, refusing to meet Kyoko's eyes again. "Also, if your performance in the Love Me section is excellent, the agency will provide you with the opportunity to debut."

"Excellent performance? How do I do that?"

"Like I said, put your heart into your work. You must carry out the task with other people's feeling in the forefront of your mind. Then the person you are working for will have a positive impression of you and rate you with a point stamp. That's how it works." Ren pulled a little box from his jacket pocket, fishing out a small rubber stamp from inside of it. He stamped it on his palm and held it up for Kyoko to see. The light grey ink read '100 Points - Perfect Score - Very well done'.

"So basically, if I earn a bunch of those stamps… I get to debut?" Kyoko asked, clenching her fists in front of her chest as she shored up her resolve to do exactly that.

"How dare you?!" Kimiko's voice was angry as she turned on Kyoko. "Letting my precious things fall like that! And what were you thinking making Tsuruga-kun carry the suitcase? I can't believe you. You're the worst!"

Kyoko couldn't even react as Kimiko pulled out her own little stamp box and pressed an inked stamp to her face.

"I'll never ask you for help again!" Kimiko announced. "Let's go Tsuruga-kun."

Kyoko put her hand to her face, transferring some of the ink from her cheek to her palm as she turned shakily towards Ren. _But he took the suitcase on his own. I didn't ask for help._ She looked at him pleadingly as he looked back with an innocent expression on his face.

"It's your own fault." Ren told her. "You didn't take responsibility for the work that you accepted. You have to refuse, no matter how nicely someone asks to help."

Kyoko had been right the first time. Without a doubt, Tsuruga Ren hated her. He intentionally set her up while he wore that gentleman's smile on his face. Kyoko dropped her hand from her face, finally looking at the stamp that Kimiko had left in her wake. '-10 Points –Very Poor' was stamped right there on Kyoko's face for all to see, in ink… that wasn't blue or green or grey.

But that was impossible… Unless Corn was watching over her from the fairy realm, cheering her on by sharing the color of cherry blossoms. Kyoko really did have the best soulmate. Even if he was to far away to touch.

* * *

 **TBC...**

 **A/N: This is not an exciting chapter. It's really just a written out version of canon. But how would Kyoko be able to appreciate the horrific power of the Love Me uniform if she couldn't see pink?**


	4. Burgundy Backdrop

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters… But you all knew that anyways.**

* * *

Ren hadn't been expecting it to be a good day. Any day he had to spend with 'professionals' that didn't take their job seriously tended not to be 'good'. And Ruriko had a tendency to take that to the extreme. She was already a full day late getting to set. But it seemed she had finally arrived.

Now the only question Ren had was, what to do with the girl collapsed in the middle of the path between him and the set?

Option 1: Walk by as if he hadn't noticed.

Well, that option was out. He had already made eye contact and the girl had started trying to crawl away. Ren couldn't help it though, she had Kyoko's eyes. Of course he was drawn to the only color in his world.

Option 2: Tell her to stay put and send help when he got back to set.

That seemed like a good option. Except she had already asked him if Ruriko had sent him to help her. So she was expecting help and her ankle was obviously swollen. How had she injured herself that badly walking up a hill?

Ren sighed. It would be decidedly out of character to just ignore an injured girl. Even if it was her. He knelt down to inspect the injury.

The girl's response was a bit… extreme. Or she was genuinely hurt. After all, repeatedly slamming her fist into the ground must have hurt too.

Ren's choice was made for him.

Option 3: Pick her up and carry her to set where there was a first aid kit waiting.

There was only a brief moment when Ren considered throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice. Then he came to his senses and switched his approach to a bridal carry. She was a girl after all. Not that she acted like one, throwing a tantrum the entire 5 minute walk to set. Really, was it that hard to say 'thank you'?

The day was turning out worse than predicted and Ren hadn't even seen Ruriko yet. It was only a matter of time though.

And unsurprisingly, when she finally did show up, she seemed to think the world revolved around her. Tugging at the elbow of Ren's costume, her expression was one part infatuation and one part expectation.

Ren smiled. "You're finally here. I was getting impatient waiting for you."

That was clearly not what she had wanted to hear.

Ruriko stormed out of the room… Like she always did apparently. Somehow the president of LME expected Ren and the director to 'fix' this bad habit she had developed. How exactly they were supposed to be doing that… hadn't been all that well explained. They shared looks of long suffering before settling down on the couch to wait for the idol's return. The one thing they had agreed on was that no one would go after her.

They had not however, shared this plan with _that girl_ , who, with the help of Ren's manager Yashiro, hopped back onto set. Her injury was wrapped, but tinges of discoloration could be seen at the edges of the bandage. She shouldn't have been walking, let alone helping to carry a struggling pop singer. It didn't seem to stop her though.

And those eyes. Ren was going to have to figure out how to control his fascination with the girl's eyes. He had to stop staring at her. Not that it was any easier to look away when Ruriko pushed the girl to the ground at his feet. He could practically see the pain and anger waring for control. How did anyone like her think they could become an actress? As far as Ren could tell, if a thought crossed the girl's mind, it crossed her face as well.

Not that he was doing much better. Ren was more than irritated by Ruriko's behavior and at least some of it was showing on his face. There was unprofessional and then there was childish. The only bright side was that Ruriko finally agreed to start filming. Unfortunately, she was terrible. And that stubborn amber eyed girl…

"Miss would you like to take a seat?"

The girl didn't even look at Ren as they stood by the back wall of the set. "No thanks." Then, when it felt like the silence had stretched on too long. "Why are you being so considerate towards me?"

Ren glanced down at the girl. She seemed almost subdued. Five minutes ago he wouldn't have believed she was capable of it. "Most people tend to be considerate to those who are injured, right?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before violently shaking her head. "If Ruriko-chan sees you standing beside me she'll probably be upset." Then she glared openly at Ren. "Stay away from me."

 ** _"SERIOUSLY!?"_**

Speak of the devil and it will blow out your eardrums. Or was that not the right phrase? Either way, Ruriko looked furious as the director explained his expectations, again, giving even more detailed instructions on posture and poise. Instructions that the amber eyed girl didn't need apparently.

 ** _"I Quit!"_** Ruriko looked smug with just a hint of malice. "Since you wanted an amateur actress, why not ask her to act?" The pop singer's finger was pointed at the LoveMe section member's chest. Ruriko seemed to be under the mistaken impression that the director would humor her and bend to her will. She also seemed to be mistaken in her assumption that, _that girl_ wouldn't gladly take the opportunity to earn Ruriko's role.

Ren watched with passive interest as Ruriko fled and the other girl wandered off to wardrobe and makeup with her aura fluctuating between sparkly and sinister. "Director, are you serious about this? Are you really going to allow Ruriko and that girl to compete and then use whoever performs the best?"

The director didn't even hesitate as he responded in the affirmative. He was more interested in making a good movie than retraining a bratty actress. Though, in Ren's personal experience, it was never wise to ignore direct orders from the president.

Ren sat up straight as a roar echoed through the manor they were using as a set. **_"SAY IT ONE MORE TIME!"_** There was a short moment of silence. ** _"AGAIN!"_**

Well, that was worth investigating. Ren rose to his feet and padded down the hallway, following the sound of continued outbursts. That was how he found Ruriko, huddled against the wall with her knees tucked up under her chin just outside the wardrobe room. "Ruriko-chan."

"Tsuruga-san."

Ren offered the advice he could, hoping that his message would sink in. "If you want the director to change his mind, you can only rely on your acting skills."

Ruriko looked back despairingly. "But didn't you want to work with me, Tsuruga-san?"

"Tsuruga-san? Ruriko-san?" A makeup artist asked as she noticed them. She had just walked out of the wardrobe room. "Are you waiting for Kyoko-chan to come out?"

Ren flinched. Of course _that girl_ had the same name as his soulmate. She had the same eyes, why wouldn't she have the same name? And… Ren's brain short circuited. _That girl_ was dressed in a dark kimono with amber accents that matched her eyes. Long hair fell around her, giving her a traditional beauty that had been lost with the short haircut she had chosen for herself. And the black framed her piercing eyes far better than the pale grey she had chosen to dye it.

The next scene passed in a blur.

Even as he tried to distract himself, Ren found his gaze always wandering back over to _that girl_. She seemed so happy to be acting. When the camera was on she was the demure young heiress she was supposed to be, but the moment it was off she was something else entirely. She heaped praises on the makeup artists, traded tricks to putting on the perfect kimono with the wardrobe workers, and generally danced around the set on one foot. Her joy was contagious, but a single wrong word from Ruriko and her ire was bone chilling.

Unfortunately for her, the acting contest was all but rigged. The next scene was a tea ceremony and with her injured ankle there was no way she could complete the scene. Or so Ren thought.

He respected determination, but really? The woman couldn't even kneel in the proper position with her injured foot, let alone preform a full tea ceremony _and_ act. "If you have to act in that position you'll have no chance of winning." He commented as she balanced on all fours. It wasn't the most ladylike of poses.

"After 'action' is called I will resume the correct position."

At least that was what she said. Ren had a hard time believing it though. Right up until the moment the word left the director's mouth.

Two things happened simultaneously. First, _that girl_ sat down on her injured ankle, all signs of pain vanishing from her face as she started the scene. Second, the flowers on her kimono grew more vivid in Ren's view, the cloth taking on a rich hue he had never seen before.

The first thing Ren knew how to handle. The second he didn't. People didn't have two soulmates, but this wasn't his Kyoko-chan either. Ren didn't know what to think. So he buried the thought, telling himself the change was nothing more than a trick of the light. It had to be. Even if the colors got brighter as he acted opposite her. It had to be a trick of the light.

* * *

 **A/N: Someone asked how Kyoko and Ren know what color is what. And the answer is they don't at the moment they first see the color. In my head Kyoko associates the colors with specific items and Ren secretly prints a color wheel off the internet to check what color is what. (But later. He's still in denial.)**

 **To Shizuhoe: Why, yes. Ren really was that much of an ass in the beginning. And hopefully this chapter answered your second question. As for why Kyoko was suddenly able to see pink, it was because she learned something about who her soulmate is as a person (even if she's totally oblivious to Ren's identity at the moment). I hope that makes sense. If not let me know. And about the Corn stone... that would be the next chapter.**


End file.
